CHAPTER TWO: A TENDER PARTING AND A TRICKY REUNION
The remainder of the holidays seemed to speed by as if the clocks had a spell on them to make them go faster. James and Sirius had been to Diagon Alley for the books and materials they would need for the 7th year and then they'd spent the final days of the holidays playing Quidditch in the Potters large back garden. James loved Quidditch almost as much as he loved Lily Evans. His Dad taught him to play practically as soon as he could walk, so by the time he got to Hogwarts he was a very good player. He was given a position in his house team, and was reputed to be Gryffindor's finest Chaser for years. He knew he was good too and loved the adulation it gave him, despite it having no effect whatsoever on the one person he would have loved to watch him play.
The sport had benefited James in other ways; he had bright hazel eyes and clear skin, he was tall and muscular and fit enough to walk for miles, not that he did walk for miles very often. He reasoned, not without some logic, that walking was a waste of time when you could fly. James adored flying, the wind in his hair, the view for miles, the speed, there was nothing like it, but this was something else that didn't impress Lily. She'd snorted with horror at him in the sixth year when he had offered to take her flying one evening. James didn't know whether it was the flying or the thought of spending time with him that disgusted her so much. He suspected it was the latter.
The day finally came for James and Sirius to go back to school for the last time. Mary Potter and her husband Arthur had wanted to accompany the boys to Kings Cross, but they'd managed to put them off. James knew that his mother would only cry all over him and it would be just too embarrassing for words. He loved his parents every bit as much as they adored him, their only child, but he just couldn't cope with it when his mother cried. So, he and Sirius persuaded them to stay at home saying they would apparate to the station from the garden. 'Are you sure you don't want us to come with you?' Mary asked, while James and Sirius positioned themselves with their trunks ready to go. 'No Mum, we'll be fine', James said dismissively. He knew that if he didn't get his mother to go back into the house soon she would start bawling. 'Come on Mary, they're 17 now' Arthur Potter said. 'You've got to let them grow up some time. They'd look ridiculous at their age if they walked into the station with their mother in tow'.
'Now you two', Arthur looked at the two younger men, a severe expression on his face, but a twinkle in his eyes, which resembled James's exactly. He also had the same untidy black hair which he had the same habit of fiddling with, especially when he was nervous or excited, the only difference was that Arthur's was flecked with grey – James also used the habit when he was trying to attract girls. It gave the impression that he just stepped off the Quidditch pitch and the girls loved it – except one. 'Behave yourselves this year, and get those exams nailed, you can do anything you want if you work for it'. Then he pulled James aside for a second. 'I'm really proud of you son' he whispered. 'Make sure you're the best Head Boy Hogwarts has ever had, I know you can do it.' Then he grinned mischievously 'And just you keep being charming to that redhead of yours, she'll come round, she has to. No girl has ever been able to resist the Potter charm for long; just you look at your mother'. 'Yes, and look what it's got me', Mary said wryly, 'a houseful of silly boys to feed and fend for'. 'Shut up woman, you wouldn't be without us for the world', Arthur said, kissing his wife on the nose. 'No, I know, I can't imagine why', Mary smiled happily. Arthur shook hands with the boys and then went back into the house.
Mary kissed Sirius who apparated to King's Cross with a pop. Then she turned to James with a tear in her eye. 'You know how proud we are of you, don't you?' she tried to smile at him but her mouth kept going in the wrong direction. 'Yeah Mum, course I do. You keep telling me, and you've polished the Head Boy badge a million times' he laughed. 'Not just of that, we're proud of everything you do, you're a wonderful son and…..and I love you very much James, I always will. James felt a lump in his throat and his mother was crying softly. 'I've got to go Mum, the train will be leaving without me and what would Dumbledore think to that, the Head Boy missing the first day back, it wouldn't look good at all', he tried to make her laugh, but she just flung her arms around him. 'I just love you that's all. Now you get back to that school and show them what a wonderful Head Boy you are. Goodbye James'.
And with a pop he was gone.
Lily Evans made her way to Kings Cross station with relief. She knew this was her last year at Hogwarts, the one place that had felt like home to her for the last 6 years. Lily knew she had exams this year that would affect the course of the rest of her life. Lily had her heart set on being a Healer, a type of doctor for witches and wizards, so she really wanted to do well, but she was a good student and she would work hard to get the results she wanted. Lily knew the reason she was so relieved to be going back to school was that it meant being away from home for months. Lily loved her parents, and she knew they were proud of her and all her achievements at school, but she was well aware that her sister Petunia was not proud of her and considered her to be nothing more than a freak.
Petunia and Lily had been close until Lily received her letter informing her she had a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry just before her 11th birthday. From then on Petunia was distant most of the time and downright nasty the rest of the time. What made it worse was now Petunia had a boyfriend, a fat ugly man called Vernon Dursley who despised Lily the moment he laid eyes on her and was rude about anything he didn't understand. He was five years older than Petunia, so you would think he would be mature, but Lily had seen no evidence of that. She grimaced when she thought of how she'd watched as Petunia and Vernon had slobbered all over each other during the summer, giggling and squealing like silly children. Lily was delighted to be going back to school away from those two.
The only blot on the landscape for Lily was the thought that when she got back to school someone almost as annoying as Vernon Dursley would be waiting for her. This was a boy who had been pestering Lily almost since she'd started at Hogwarts, and practically stalked her in the third year, a boy in the same house as Lily, which made it worse. Lily despised James Potter. She hated the way he hexed people just because he could, she hated the way he messed around with his hair so that it looked like he'd just got off the Quidditch pitch – Lily didn't hate Quidditch particularly, mainly because she had never watched a match. Lily was not into sports, she preferred books – she hated the way he wouldn't take no for an answer. James Potter had been pestering her to go out with him for years and she was not about to give in to the arrogant, egotistical, conceited….
Just thinking about James Potter made Lily feel strange. He could make her blood boil like no one she'd ever met. When she saw him she wanted to scream and throw things at him. James Potter, as far as Lily was concerned, was the most annoying person on the face of the earth. 'Still, now I'm Head Girl I can stop him hexing people and pulling pranks' she sighed. Lily remembered how her parents had been thrilled when she received the note from Dumbledore, telling her she was Head Girl. Petunia had thought it hilarious. 'Couldn't they get one of their own freaks to do it', she scorned. Lily didn't care. She was Head Girl and she was going to do everything she could to show Dumbledore he had made the right choice, 'If I can put Potter in his place at the same time, that's all the better for me', she thought. Lily was glad to be going back to school. After this year she would never need to see James Potter ever again and that was reason in itself to feel relieved.
James and Sirius apparated to Kings Cross and made their way to Platform 9¾ where they would catch the Hogwarts Express. They boarded the train and found Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew in one of the carriages near the back of the train. The Prefects Carriage was nearby. The Marauders had always thought that if they were near the Prefects Carriage, no one could possibly think that anything that happened on the train could possibly be attributed to them, and so far, they were right. James and Sirius put their trunks up onto the luggage rack next to Remus and Peter's and flopped down into their seats. Remus was engrossed in a book, but he looked up when the two boys sat down. 'Hi Prongs, Padfoot,' he nodded, a light smile on his lips. 'Good summer?' The boys all exchanged stories of what they'd done during the summer break, Peter didn't contribute much to this though. He said he'd spent the majority of the summer alone at home, whilst his family went abroad. The others decided that the best course of action would be to move the topic on. They'd all spent the summer with family and friends who actually wanted to be with them. Peter was a loner. If he hadn't got them he'd have had no one.
'So, what are we going to do now we're 7th years? How many girls look like they would be happy to be seduced by me this year?' Sirius asked after a while. Remus rolled his eyes exasperatedly, but smiled all the same. 'Padfoot old man, some of us go to school to learn, we don't all see it as a means of being able to cause as much mayhem as possible on the one hand, and flirt outrageously with everything in a skirt on the other'. 'We might not', Sirius laughed his bark-like laugh devilishly, 'But I do, so which girls should I grace with my presence this year?' The others laughed. If there were exams in flirting, Sirius would pass every time.
The train moved out of the station and the boys passed some time playing a game of Exploding Snap that got a little out of hand. If James hadn't reacted as quickly as he did Peter would have ended up singeing his eyebrows. After a while James stood up 'I'm going to have to go in a while'. 'It's at the end of the corridor' Peter stated. James looked at him for a second and realised he was deadly serious. 'No, I don't mean go, not like that, I mean I've got to go to the Prefects Carriage. I'm Head Boy this year'.
The effect of the words was immediate. Remus and Peter looked at one another, and then they looked at James and Sirius. They kept opening their mouths to say something, and then closing them. They looked just like goldfish in a bowl. James and Sirius jumped up down and had to wipe tears of laughter from their faces. 'But how?….why?…has Dumbledore gone mad?' Remus cried after a while, shaking his head. 'Thanks for the vote of confidence Moony', James said, trying to sound offended. 'For your information he thinks I can do it, though God knows why, and he reckons it will benefit me in more ways than one, that's what he said in his letter, but how he thinks being Head Boy would be good for a Marauder is beyond me'. 'Oh I don't know mate', Sirius broke in, 'I reckon it could come in handy, you know, the Head Boy has to spend time with the Head Girl doesn't he, and then there is those patrols at night in the corridors….' 'Yeah, but what chance is there that Evans will be Head Girl?' James interrupted. 'Absolutely none, so it'll mean I can spend less time trying to convince her I'm not directly descended from the Giant Squid….'
'Perhaps that isn't such a bad thing' Remus interrupted James, who looked like he was about to go into full flow about the virtues of Lily Evans. 'And why would that be?' James demanded, sounding sharper than he meant to, and apologising with a look. 'Well Prongs', Remus acknowledged the apology with a dismissive wave of his hand, 'Have you ever considered that the best way to make Lily see you as you are might just be to leave her alone?' Remus said this in a tone of someone trying to explain to a small child that two and two make four. 'But then she'd forget about me and I'll lose any chance of being with her', James whined. 'Or she may find that once you stop falling over yourself to impress her, she gets a glimpse of the real you and likes what she sees', Remus replied reasonably. James considered this, but was saved from having to come up with a response by the carriage door opening suddenly. All four boys looked up and James's heart started to thump wildly in his chest. Lily Evans stood in the doorway of the carriage, and she didn't look pleased to be there.
'Oh Hi Lily', Sirius finally managed. 'We were just talking about you'. James glared at Sirius but smiled innocently up at Lily who was now looking like she wished she'd never gone near that particular carriage. 'Er, Hi L-Lily', he gaped, she was still gorgeous, her almond shaped green eyes made all the more beautiful because she was annoyed. 'Er, w-what can I…er, I mean we…d-do for you?' Lily glared at him, her annoyance rising. 'Of all the carriages to go into', she thought 'I have to pick the one Potter and his cronies are in'. Before she could reply James recovered himself – seeing her for the first time each year had always had that effect on him, like he couldn't think properly and his mouth wouldn't work. 'Or have you come to tell me that you admit defeat and that you will go out with me this year?' he grinned hopefully. Lily gave him a look that one would normally use on something you'd accidentally stepped on in the street. 'Don't flatter yourself Potter, I wouldn't go out with you if you were the last boy on earth' she snapped scornfully. 'I've only come in here because there isn't room in the other carriages. I won't be long though, I've got to go to the Prefects carriage shortly, I'm Head Girl this year'. James and Sirius exchanged glances. Sirius was struggling to keep a straight face. Remus and Peter decided it was best to stay out of this one; James could handle this himself…maybe. 'So you'd better watch yourself, any funny business from you and I'll be…..'
'Actually Evans', James cut into her thoughts on how she would deal with him if he misbehaved, trying not to think about how he'd like her to deal with him, and also trying to keep his voice steady, his heart was beating wildly again and he felt like he could have kissed Dumbledore. 'He's made her Head Girl, he's practically giving me permission to spend time alone with her…', he thought wistfully, 'I think you'll find you'll be seeing me quite a bit this year, I'm Head Boy'. Lily stared at him, open mouthed, speechless. 'B-but y-y-you c-c-can't be!' she eventually cried, 'You're not even a prefect, honestly Potter, you're starting to sound desperate now', and she laughed nervously; he'd nearly got her there. 'It's true Evans', James was beaming now, and Sirius was having even more trouble keeping his amusement to himself. 'I can show you the note from Dumbledore if you like', and as if to make the point, he handed her the note from the Headmaster. Lily snatched it from him. She read it. Sirius stopped sniggering under his breath, and James fiddled with his hair, waiting for Lily's reaction.
The carriage was now almost eerily silent. 'B-b-but….Oh my God…has he gone mad!' Lily looked like she was about to burst into tears. 'Don't worry Evans' James was smiling sweetly again, his eyes dancing in his head. 'I'll look after you on patrol…alone…..in the dark corridors…at night', and he breathed heavily at her. 'Drop dead Potter!' Lily was furious now, her eyes blazing in response to the grin on James's face. Suddenly James gasped, he held one hand to his face and another hand to his chest and started to pant; then he started to moan as if he was in agony. Lily's eyes widened. 'P-Potter?' she was startled. 'P-Potter, what's wrong with you?…..Stop it at once!' but James started to twitch slightly. Lily looked at the other three boys, but Sirius was staring out of the window, his back to Lily, his shoulders moving up and down a little. Peter looked anxiously at Remus. He couldn't work out what was wrong with James, he'd been fine until Lily told him to drop dead – Remus noted the anxious look on Peter's face and nudged him, raising his eyebrows.
James seemed to go rigid and the next thing Lily knew he was on the carriage floor, his eyes closed. Lily staggered back as he fell, but regained her balance quickly. 'P-P-Potter!….speak to me!…..wake up!….' Lily was panicking now, 'Will one of you do something!' she cried, 'He's ill or dead or…..' Just when Lily was starting to become really frightened James's eyes flicked open, and he lay on the floor gazing up at her wickedly. 'Worried about me were you?' he chuckled. 'See, I knew you cared about me really, so, now we've established that, will you go out with me?' Lily stamped her feet in frustration. 'Why you….you….you scared the life out of me you idiot…..get up at once!' 'But why would I do that, when the view is so nice here' he sighed. 'From here I can see your gorgeous red hair perfectly, and your lovely nose, has anyone ever told you how pretty your nose is?' Lily blushed furiously, which only encouraged James. 'And from here I can look up and see your beautiful……' 'POTTER!' Lily yelled so loudly the carriage shook. 'What?' James asked innocently. 'I was going to say your eyes, your beautiful eyes', and he leapt to his feet. 'Padfoot, wasn't I going to say I could see Lily's beautiful eyes?' James looked at Sirius for support, but Sirius looked back over his shoulder at his friend, 'Leave me out of this Prongs, I'm sure you can manage.' Lily realised the time, and moved towards the carriage door. 'Come on then Potter, if you're Head Boy you'd better come with me, it's time for the Prefects Meeting'.
James followed her out of the carriage, pulling the door closed behind him. Remus went back to the book he'd been reading earlier, and Peter sat twiddling his thumbs idly. Sirius turned back to face the window, rested his head against his seat and settled for a nap. 'Well, while Prongs is at the meeting I can catch up on some sleep' he yawned. Sirius loved sleeping as much as he loved eating. Somewhere in the distance he could hear a high pitched voice. Words like 'head boy' 'responsible' and 'behave' floated through the air before a lower voice cut in. 'gorgeous' 'eyes' 'go out with me' and 'legs' could be heard, before the low voice went suddenly higher 'Ow! That hurt!' Sirius shook his head. James had obviously done something, and Lily had clearly retaliated. Sirius yawned again and drifted off to sleep.
Half an hour later Sirius was woken by the sound of the carriage door opening again. He looked up and stretched himself before his eyes rested on James who was limping a little. He had a dreamy look on his face. 'What happened to you?' Sirius inquired. James flopped down heavily in the seat beside his friend and sighed happily. 'She kicked me'. 'She what?' Sirius replied. He wasn't sure he'd heard correctly. 'Lily', James replied. Sirius nodded, he could tell who by the look on James's face. 'She kicked me'. James repeated. 'Why?' Sirius knew there was more to this. Lily wouldn't lash out, even at James, for no reason. 'She was giving me one of her lectures on how I was Head Boy now and I have to be responsible from now on and behave myself,' James was now beaming like an idiot. 'So I told her that I still think she's gorgeous, and her eyes are beautiful, and I asked her to go out with me again….' 'And she kicked you for that?' Sirius laughed. Lily was obviously getting physical! 'No, I told her that when I was on the floor I had a great view of her legs and they are stunning…..and then she kicked me' James pulled up the leg of his jeans to show off a big black bruise that had formed on his shin. 'It hurt too', he sighed again. 'Oh well, it must be love then' Sirius groaned.
The rest of the journey passed off peacefully. Lily didn't come back to the Marauders carriage, except to collect her things. When she did this, she didn't pass any remarks to any of them but she glowered angrily at James. There was no time for him to say anything though. They were back at Hogwarts, the 7th year had begun.